Introduction research of Iris species in the Stavropol botanical garden

In the process of plant introduction, the main task is to study the features of their biology and ecology, and as a result, their adaptive capabilities in specific climatic conditions. In nature, species of iris ( Iris L.) are widely distributed from the Northern regions to the subtropics and have a great ecological plasticity. In the conditions of the Stavropol upland, it is possible to successfully grow representatives of the genus iris from different parts of its range. The collection of irises in the Stavropol Botanical garden has 19 species. Species of Iris furcata, I. notha, and I. pumila that are common in grass-turf and meadow steppes, and I. pseudonotha that are common in wet meadows, have a stability in the conditions of culture, and they have an annual abundant flowering and fruiting. The timing of the beginning of generative phases of I. pumila development in culture and natural populations of the Stavropol upland varies within 5-7 days. In comparison with other species of local flora in the collection I. pseudonotha is most susceptible to diseases, for species I. halophila flowering is not observed every year. Some of the species in the collection are of Far Eastern Asian origin: I. domestica, I. ensata, I. lactea, I. laevigata, I. oxypetala, I. sanguinea and North American - I. versicolor. Among them, I. domestica shows the least frost and drought resistance, the flowering of the species occurs during the hottest period - the third decade of July, however, in some years, high seed productivity was observed for the species. Irregular flowering in the I-II decade of May was observed for I. lactea and I. oxypetala. The species I. ensata blooms in early June, a month earlier than in natural populations. Most of the Iris species in the collection are stable, and to a lesser extent adaptive potential is shown by species with a narrow ecological and phytocenotic affiliation - I. domestica, I. scariosa, I. halophila, and I. lactea . Species I. pseudonotha, I. domestica, and I. graminea do not reach their natural values in terms of habitus.

ГЕОЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ МОНИТОРИНГ ОЗЕРА БОЛЬШОЕ ЯШАЛТИНСКОЕ

В статье обсуждаются результаты исследований экологического состояния озера Большое Яшалтинское Республики Калмыкия. Изучение структуры и состава растительных сообществ прибрежной территории водоема показало, что на каштановых солонцеватых и темно-каштановых солонцеватых почвах развивается разнотравно-дерновинно-злаковая степь. За весенне-осенний период минерализация воды в озере в 2018 году варьировала от 135,04 г/л до 216,19 г/л, в 2019 году от 209,51 г/л до 263,64 г/л, при этом площадь водной поверхности водоема менялась от 30,01 км2 до 29,79 км2 и от 32,46 км2 до 31,97 км2, соответственно.The article discusses the results of research on the ecological state of lake Bolshoe Yashaltinskoe in the Republic of Kalmykia. The study of the structure and composition of plant communities of the coastal territory of the reservoir showed that on chestnut saline and dark chestnut saline soils, a mixed grass-turf-grass steppe develops. During the spring and autumn period, the mineralization of water in the lake in 2018 varied from 135.04 g / l to 216.19 g/l, in 2019 from 209.51 g/l to 263.64 g / l, while the water surface area of the reservoir changed from 30.01 km2 to 29.79 km2 and from 32.46 km2 to 31.97 km2, respectively.

The Effects of Natural Grass Turf on Some Motoric Characteristics of Young Soccer Players

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of soccer training on natural turfs on strength, speed, power and balance characteristics in prepubertal children. Twenty-two male athletes chosen from the 12-13 age group who play soccer in the youth team of an amateur soccer club from Istanbul, Turkey volunteered to participate in our study. In the study, 30 m sprint, Y-balance, standing long jump and vertical jump tests were done as pre- and post-tests. The same training program was assigned to the players, who were separated into two groups. One group was trained on synthetic grass turf (SG) while the other group was trained on natural grass turf (NG) for eight weeks. As a result of the statistical analyses, significant improvements were observed in all parameters between pre-and post-test measurements of both SG and NG groups (p<0.05). When the developmental differences of the groups were examined, statistical improvement was found in the standing long jump parameter in favor of the group that trained on Natural Grass turf (p=0.037). In conclusion, depending on the characteristics of the soccer game, enhancements were observed on both surfaces. However, the challenge effect of natural grass turf was more effective than that of synthetic grass turf on leg strength improvement. It is considered that as a result of continuing their soccer trainings on natural grass turfs, young players can improve their performance and can avoid possible injuries.

Hönnun og virkni léttra gróðurþaka við íslenskar aðstæður

Green roofs are increasingly being installed cities in Europe as a part of sustainable stormwater systems. The goal of this research was to assess the hydrological efficiency of different configurations of extensive green roofs in Iceland and present suggestions for successful design of such roofs based on local materials and weather conditions. International literature and best design practices were reviewed. Runoff from five test roofs was monitored for 11 months, in conjunction with snowdepth, rainfall, wind and air temperature. Green roof water retention measured highest 85% in June and July in accordance with other studies in cold climates. Water retention measured, however, somewhat lower during the winter (<20%). Significant delay of runoff's center of mass and lowering of peak runoff was measured in all green roofs except during the largest runoff events. Average event water retention was correlated to air temperature, cumulative rain, rain 14 days before event and wind speed 7 days before event. Roofs with moss and sedum turf demonstrated good hydrological efficiency, good appearance and needed little maintenance. Grass turf roofs retained slighlty more water, but were less drought resistant and looked poorly during early summer. Wild, water resistent plants like moss and sedum performed better overall.

Autonomous Rotary Mower versus Ordinary Reel Mower—Effects of Cutting Height and Nitrogen Rate on Manila Grass Turf Quality

High-quality sports turfs often require low mowing and frequent maintenance. Sports turfs often consist of hard-to-mow warm season turfgrasses, such as zoysiagrass (Zoysia sp.) or bermudagrass (Cynodon sp.). Although autonomous mowers have several advantages over manually operated mowers, they are not designed to mow lower than 2.0 cm and are consequently not used on high-quality sports turfs. All autonomous mowers are only equipped with rotary mowing devices and do not perform clipping removal. An ordinary autonomous mower was modified to obtain a prototype autonomous mower cutting at a low height. The prototype autonomous mower was tested on a manila grass (Zoysia matrella) turf and compared its performance in terms of turf quality and energy consumption with an ordinary autonomous mower and with a gasoline reel mower. A three-way factor experimental design with three replications was adopted. Factor A consisted of four nitrogen rates (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg·ha−1), factor B consisted of two mowing systems (autonomous mower vs. walk-behind gasoline reel mower with no clipping removal), and factor C consisted of two mowing heights (1.2 and 3.6 cm). Prototype autonomous mower performed mowing at 1.2-cm mowing height whereas ordinary autonomous mower mowed at 3.6-cm mowing height. The interaction between the mowing system and mowing height showed that the turf quality was higher when the turf was mowed by the autonomous mower and at 1.2 cm than at 3.6 cm. Autonomous mowing not only reduced the mowing quality, but also reduced the leaf width. Lower mowing height induced thinner leaves. Nitrogen fertilization not only increased the overall turf quality, reduced weed cover percentage, but also reduced mowing quality. Autonomous mowers also had a lower energy consumption if compared with the reel mower (1.86 vs. 5.37 kWh/week at 1.2-cm mowing height and 1.79 vs. 2.32 kWh/week at 3.6-cm mowing height, respectively). These results show that autonomous mowers can perform low mowing even on tough-to-mow turfgrass species. They could also be used on high-quality sports turfs, thus saving time as well as reducing noise and pollution.

Modern state of study of initial soils and initial grounding (analytical review)

On the basis of elaboration and analysis of literary sources, a modern state of scientific research on evolution, genesis, distribution, morphology, classification of initial soils and peculiarities of initial soil formation, in general, has been established. There are three main discussion directions in modern scientific researches, in particular, the issues of terminology (change of its semantic content with the development of new concepts in soil science), morphological features and genesis of initial soils. A detailed analysis of available factual materials with authorial modifi cations allowed to form the following evolutionary series: embryonic (germinal) soils – the soil-like body (kurumy) - primary (incipient) – primitive (young) – weakly developed soils. Embryonic soils are organo-mineral layers with a thickness of up to 1 cm, dark brown, dark gray homogeneous color, which are closely adjacent to the dense rock and severely separated, have no signs of division into horizons and are formed under lithophilic groups and lichens. They form separate spots (up to 1 m), confi ned to small depressions, cracks within the rock. Further development of the embryonic process due to the settlement of leaf lichens, the combination of the processes of pedogenesis and lithogenesis cause the formation of Kurums with an organogenic layer thickness of up to 3 cm, which lies directly on a dense rocky rock and is easily separated from it. There are no signs of division into genetic horizons. The soil-like bodies (Kurum) are fragmentarily combined with the weakly developed soils zones within cracks and clefts and embryonic soils. The placement of the moss layer prepared during the embryonic stage intensifies the processes of accumulation of organic matter and the growth of soils upwards. Under the mosses on the dense rocks, the primary (initial) soils are formed. These soils have the power of the organogenic horizon up to 10 cm and marked signs of differentiation on the soil horizons. Settlements on mosses of meadow grass, turf crops, shrubs cause an increase in the power of the organogenic horizon to 20 cm with the allocation of genetic horizons that lie on a dense rock without signs of the development and formation of eluvial deposits. Such signs are characteristic of primitive (young) soils. Key words: initial soils, initial soils formation, the soil-like body, embryonic soils.